Ring groove cleaner for pistons



Dec. 17, 1946. K. G. PHILLIPS 2,412,748

RING GROOVE CLEANER FOR PISTONS Filed July 21, 1945 v 1 'II'IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII {2/1/1414 61 41115103, 0 .3. INVENTOR W17 BY W W ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 17, 1946 more!) STATES PATENT OFFICE RING GROOVE CLEANER FOR PISTONS Kenneth G. Phillips, Los Angeles, Calif. Application July 21, 1945, Serial No. 606,450

My invention relates to tools adapted for use in connection with the servicing of combustion engines and has particular reference to a handoperated device by means of which carbon can be cleaned from the ring grooves of a piston and the groove refaced preparatory to the replacement of thering.

In providing a suitable tool for cleaning ring grooves in pistons, several circumstances must be taken carefully into account. In the first place, ring sizes vary in width so that the too-1, to be useful under all circumstances, must be versatile and capable of being so adjusted as to fit any one of a number of sizes of grooves. Another imp-ortant requirement is in having a tool which can be easily manipulated so that when the pistons are in relatively inaccessible places the mechanic can apply and manipulate the tool with one hand, if need be.

With these needs in view it is among the objects of my invention to provide a new and improved ring groove cleaner for engine cylinders which is particularly easy to apply and operate with one hand, if need be, and which, during its operation, performs an efficient job of cleaning the ring groove to its full depth.

Another object of my invention is to provide 7 a new and improved ring groove cleaner for pistons which is sufficiently versatile so that it can be used upon pistons of a wide variety of different diameters and likewise for the cleaning of grooves of different widths while maintaining its efilciency of operation equally well for all sizes.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a ring groove cleaner for pistons the parts of which when applied to the piston in cutting relation become automatically engaged and upon completion of the cleaning operation can be quickly and efliciently released by a single squeezing action. i

A further object still of my invention is to provide a ring groove cleaner wherein a carriage for the cutting tool can be automatically maintained under pressure during operation, thereby assuring a steady pressure upon the cutter and which is further provided with a device for locking the carriage in place so positioned that an operator can manipulate the tension on both the carriage and the locking device with one hand whenever it is desired for the operator either to apply the tool to or release the tool from a cylinder.

With these and other objects in view, my invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of my device whereby the objects contemplated are at- 1 Claim. (Cl. -104.!)1)

tained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claim and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational View of the operative part of the device with the piston partly broken away.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of the device shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line III-III of Fig. 2.

In the automotive and combustion engine repair trade there have been devised a great many diiierent kinds of tools directed to the purpose of cleaning the carbon from ring grooves and pistons nd also for scraping and refinishing the walls of the grooves so that new piston rings can be inserted therein either of the same size as the original ring or of some larger size if the groove has had to be reamed out in order to remedy pitting or other defects. Because it is desirable to do this work in many cases without entirely removing the pistons, a tool to be successful must be rather small and capable of being operated in a limited space. Due also to the fact that the mechanic when using the tool cannot conveniently use both hands to manipulate it in many cases, a tool which can be worked with one hand is of decided advantage.

In order that the cutter which cleans out the groove may progress properly as the cleaning operation continues, the tool should further be so designed that a carriage for the cutter can be advanced whenever necessary in order to bring the cutter into close contact with the groove and must also provide an automatic feed so that the cutter will continue to advance at a satisfactory rate as the mechanic swings the tool about the piston during the cleaning operation.

After the groove has been thoroughly cleaned out, it is equally necessary that the mechanic be able to release it from engagement with the piston with equal facility, which means that the tool capable of release with one hand is of a decided advantage over tools requiring that they be gripped and manipulated with two hands: when. a job is finished. The tool, of course, must be positive in its adjustment and firmly made so that the groove may be, finished straight and clean.

In an embodiment chosen to illustrate my invention wherein a piston it provided with a ring groove 52 is to be cleaned, there is shown a rod is or substantially rectangular shape in cross section, bent into a wide V having one short leg l4 and one long leg 5. The thickness of the rod is kept to such a dimension that it will be smaller there is provided a ratchet comprising a handle 19 pivoted at 26 to a bracket 24. A hooked end 22 is adapted to extend into an aperture or cutaway portion of the carirage 23 so that it can engage the teeth lfi. The handle isbiasedoutward- 1y by means of a coiled spring 2!; so that hooked end 22 is normally urged inwardly into engaging relationship with the teeth. For convenience in applying the device with one hand there is provided a thumb bracket 25 which may be located at the outer end of the carriage. I

Cleaning of the groove is accomplished by a groove-cutter hereshown as comprising a wheellike element St which is carried upon a mounting 3i pivotally secured by a pin 32 to the carriage. The mounting isprovided with a handle 33 spring biased outwardly by means of a coiled spring '33 which operates between the carriage and the handle. It should be noted that the handle 33 and handle 18 are directly opposite each other and I are spring pressed in substantially the same plane outwardly from each other.

Thecutter element is here shown provided with four separate cutters 35, 36, 31 and $8 and is in the formofa whee1 rotatably mounted by means ofa screw 39 within the mounting 3!. The cutters, although of substantially the same length, are of different widths so that they may fit within the grooves of different breadths.

In order to secure one or another of the cutters-in proper cutting position, there is provided a block 46. The block has a width permitting it to be wedged intothe space between an adjacent .pair ofcutters so that the anchored'non-rotatably, with a desired cutter extending in cutting relationship. The block may .besecured by means of a thumb screw 42, the .shank of which extends through a slot '43 in the "side of the mounting and threadedly engages the 'block'lll. 'Theblock can be slid into place against thecutter element and there locked while one of the'cutte'rs is in cutting position and when it is desired torotate'the cutter element so that a 'cutter'of different size can be used the thumb screw' lz is released and'the shank of the'screw 42 slid along the'slot '43 untilthe block is out of engagement with the cutter element,as shown in Fig. 2. The cutter element can then be rotated until'thedesired' cutter is in cutting position. In operation the carriage is first released by sliding-it to the outer end of the long leg of the rod 13. The rod is then applied aroundapiston so that the sides of the legs adjacent the apex of the V fall into a groove in a piston. The carriage I] isthen pushed alongthe long leg until cutter -35, for'example, engages the groove and thenis forced-somewhat further so that the mounting 3| and'handle 33 are pivoted against the force '{of' spring 34 causing it to collapse. This is the spring which feeds the cutter as the cleaning *operation progresses. Since the handle i8 is normally spring pressed outwardly by the spring 24, the hook-22 will engage theteeth of the long leg andanchor the carriage in -place at its fully extended position, wherever that may be. If,

cutter element may be 4. 1 after the carriage is first pushed into position, it is necessary to slide it a short distance further, it is necessary only for the mechanic to grasp the outside end of the leg l5 with his fingers and then push against the thumb bracket 25 and edge the carriage up a few more notches. After the carriage has thus been applied, the operator, using his same hand, can rotate the tool about the piston. During rotation, the cutter 35 in thepresent instance will progress gradually from the outside edge of the groove toward the bottom, being forced through a feeding movement by pressure of the spring t lwwhen the cleaning and finishing of the groove has been finished, the carriage and cutter can be quickly and readily released by the mechanic using only one hand by-encircling both handles l8 and 33 with his hand, pressing the handles inwardly toward each other and then pulling the carriage outwardly along the leg 55. The cutter is thereby released from the groove simultaneously with release of the carriage from its fixed position upon the rod 13. As soon as the carriage has been withdrawn far enough so that on. release of the handle 33 the cutter will not be tilted into position within the groove, the mechanic releases the handle 9 together with the handle 33, the cutter again becomes automatically fixed in position upon the rod and the entire tool can be removed and tossed into the tool box, if ned be, without danger of the carriage falling from the rod and without the necessity of making any other manual adjustment to prevent the parts from becoming separated.

By the expedient of providing, in effect, an automatic lock between the carriage and the rod by means .of which it is attached to a piston, 'a simple and efficient tool hasbeen provided which is capable of efficient manipulation under virtually all circumstances and which is capable of making a satisfactory, straight, clean cut into the ring groove of a piston so that a thorough cleaning and finishing job can be accomplished in a very short length of time.

I claim:

A reconditioner for piston ring grooves comprising: a piston-engaging member having a pair of legs at an acute'angle to each other, said legs having opposing inner faces for contact with pistons of various diameters; an extension carried by one of said legs, the outer face of said extension being provided with a series of forwardly inclined ratchet teeth; a carriage slidably mounted on said extensionand over said ratchet teeth; -a bracket carried by one side of the carriage; a rearwardly extending handle pivotally mounted on the bracket, said-handle including a hooked forward element; apart-in the carriage; spring means cooperating with the handle to engage the hooked element with saidratchet teeth through said port to prevent rearward motion of the carriage; a hollow mounting pivotally connected to the forward portion of the other side of the carriage; a rearwardly extending handle carried by the mounting and in a plane common to the carriage, said extension, and first-mentioned handle; spring means biasing the second mentioned handle forwardly; a cutter whee1 pivotally carried in the 'hollow mounting; and a manually adjustable wedge within the hollow mounting to lock the cutter wheel, the'two handles beingwithin a single hand-hold distance of each otherwhereby the carriage and cutter wheel mounting may be 5 simultaneouslyreleased.

KENNETH G. PHILLIPS. 

